Review's and Book Notices. 
293 
Lincolnshire by Dr. E. Mansel Sympson. Cambridge University Press, 
pp. viii + 193, is. 6d. From many points of view Lincolnshire has 
attractions to the geographer, and Dr. Mansel Sympson has succeeded in 
summarising the various and numerous aspects of the county, as now 
included under the general term ‘ Geography.’ The Fen country parti- 
cularly appeals to the visitor, with its wild-fowling, the vanishing woad 
industry, etc. ; while in the north on the shores of the Humber the enor- 
mous fishing and ironstone industries give a very different aspect to the 
county. Architecturally the county is also favoured in having such 
magnificent structures as the churches, etc., at Grantham, Lincoln, Boston, 
Louth, Crowland and Thornton. The author deals with the Geology, 
Natural History, etc., in an interesting manner. 
Chats on Old Copper and Brass by F. W. Burgess. London : Fisher 
Unwin, 1914, 400 pp., 5s. He is a bold man now-a-days who can collect 
objects in brass and copper with impunity. During the past quarter of 
a century thousands of such so-cal'ed antique objects have filled the various 
curio shops, and numbers of chesnut roasters, candle sticks, etc., which at 
one time were exceedingly difficult to pick up, are now for sale by the hun- 
dred in various parts of the country. Whether Mr. Burgess has been 
successful in figuring anything but genuine specimens or not, of course we 
cannot say, but in any event he clearly defines the various objects in 
brass which he recommends as suitable for collecting, though there are 
some, such for instance as the cross on the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral, 
which even the most ardent collector would hardly dare to hope to acquire, 
Mr. Burgess seems to have touched upon most aspects of brass and copper, 
and has been assisted in his work by many of the museums. 
Engineering Geology by H. Ries and T. L. Watson. London : Chapman 
and Hall, 1914, pp. xxvi. -)- 672, 17s. net. The authors of this work are 
the respective professors of economic geology' in the Cornell and Virginian 
Universities, and obviously they thoroughly understand the requirements 
of the engineer. The science of Geology is dealt with in an unusually 
complete manner from the engineering standpoint, in fact we know of 
no treatise in the English language which is so thorough and on so lavish 
a scale. The authors appear to have omitted no particular aspect of 
geological science that has any bearing whatever upon the work of the 
engineer, and they deal equally fully with road materials, ore deposits, 
cements, building stones, harbour works, coast erosion, underground 
waters, water supply, and the scores of other ways in which geology has 
an important bearing upon engineering science. The book seems to be 
very thorough indeed. There are about 250 illustrations in the text, over 
100 plates, and an exceptionally good index. 
Controlled Natural Selection and Value Marking by J. C. Mottram. 
London : Longmans, Green & Co., 130 pp., 3s. 6d. net. I do not know the 
author of this book, neither is there anything to show whether it is a man or 
a woman. We presume it is the latter as right through the point seems to 
be that the female is the all important individual, while the male counts 
for very little. The author endeavours to show that all through life and in 
all circumstances, nature has ordained that ‘ valueless males may be 
destroyed rather than valuable females.’ The author seems to opine 
that among insects, when both sexes are present, it is the valueless males 
that are most readily attacked and eaten by the birds. Similarly' in the 
other natural orders an endeavour is made to prove that the necessary 
females are best protected and best cared for, and so on. The book deals 
with conspicuousness in nature ; selecting power of enemies ; sexual 
colours ; the displays of British birds, and human and other societies. The 
conclusion with regard to human society indicates the tone of the book, 
namely ‘ that competition does not lead to advancement, which is best 
gained by' environmental differentiation or specialisation. Finally' it may' 
be said that species rid themselves of males in the following ways: 1. 
Sacrifice them to enemies ; 2. Cause them to destroy one another ; 3. 
Themselves destroy' them ; 4. Or control their production.’ 
1914 Sept. 1 
